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National Guard Responds to Water Crisis in Flint; Obama References TV Shows During SOTU; New Jersey Restaurant Staff Mistakenly Thought They Won Powerball; Killed Vet's Facebook Post Goes Viral. Aired 2:30-3p ET
Aired January 13, 2016 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:30:00] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Coming up next, we have to talk about this water crisis in Flint, Michigan. We have been reporting on this. Folks, it's getting worse. Now the governor is calling in the National Guard. Are people who have been exposed this water at risk?
Plus, President Obama last night during the State of the Union -- were you listening closely -- giving nods not just to one but two tv shows. Was it planned? We'll talk to Dylan Byers about that coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:34:48] BALDWIN: We are just past the bottom of the hour. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.
To Michigan we go. The governor has activated the National Guard to help with this growing water emergency in the city of Flint. This jug here -- I'm from the south. Iced tea? Not at all. This is tap water contaminated with lead and iron. The pollution started slowly after city leaders switched the supply source from Lake Huron to the Flint River. Apparently, they were trying to save money.
The National Guard today joining volunteers delivering clean jugs of lead-free water.
Some people want the governor to resign, but others say, no, he can stay and face the consequences.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want him to stay in office and see what mess he's created here. I want him to see the people he's hurt and his administration has hurt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Ryan Young is on this for us.
Great that the National Guard has been called in. The fact that this has been an issue for months and it's still not fixed.
RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: People are talking about that. Yes, the National Guard is getting called in. Brooke, let's put this in perspective. Only seven National Guard members are on the ground right now. I just talked with one of the advisers there in Flint, Michigan. They were telling us seven there today, 30 by Friday. Not a lot to help the 30,000 people who need water. More water has been brought in because, quite honestly, people in Flint, Michigan, tell us this has been hard to find. Think about the idea you have to use bottled water to wash your face, brush your teeth. People are upset that it is coming out smelly and Brown. They have been complaining for months. They said they are not getting the kind of attention they expected. Now that is starting to happen.
You talk about the switch that was made to save $4 million. They are blaming the state because they had troubles with financing. When they made the switch, there is more corrosive water in the Flint River and that went through the corrosive pipes which led to all the issues going on now. They could have treated this water for $100 a day. This is a big problem that doctors say will have long-term effects for the kids in that area.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. MONA HANNA-ATTISHA, HURLEY CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: It is a well- known potent neurotoxin. There's tons of evidence on what lead does to a child. It is one of the most damaging things you can do to a population. It drops your I.Q., affects your behavior, it has been linked to criminality. It has multigenerational impacts. There is no safe level of lead in a child.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YOUNG: A lot of people are pointing fingers in this one. They want to know what will happen next. The Congressman saying the state needs to mix it immediately. People are asking for more resources. The governor has asked FEMA to get involved. They want to see it action and they want to see it now -- Brooke?
BALDWIN: Like more than seven members of the National Guard. At least they're there.
Ryan Young, thank you.
President Obama's seventh and final State of the Union address is now in the history books. He hit a familiar tune last night about hope interest optimism about America's future despite the politics. If you happened to watch it on TV, a couple of his lines might have had you wondering, hmm, I've heard that before. Case in point, the famous catch phrase the president referenced from the no longer, but one of my favorite shows on the planet, "Friday Night Lights." Did you hear this?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: This game is not over. This battle is not over. So let's hear it one more time, together. Clear eyes, full hearts.
(SHOUTING) BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That's the America I know. That's the country we love. Clear eyed, big hearted, undaunted by challenge, optimistic that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Joining us, CNN senior media and politics reporter, Dylan Byers.
Was it Barack Obama, Coach Taylor? I was watching last night. I'm a fan of "Friday Night Lights." I thought was he going to say it?
DYLAN BYERS, CNN SENIOR MEDIA & POLITICS REPORTER: It sounds like he botched it. Clear eyed, full hearted.
BALDWIN: Can't lose.
BYERS: Can't lose. I think if you go to "Entertainment Weekly" today --
BALDWIN: As I have done.
BYERS: As you have done. I hope so.
(LAUGHTER)
You will see they covered Obama's State of the Union address. That is not something they do, but they did because he reference "Friday Night Lights. If you were on Twitter last night, there were a lot of people who might not use the State of the Union, who were paying attention after he made that remark because it got so much traction on Twitter. I wouldn't be surprised if this was a play by Obama and his speech writers to expand the reach of his address and get that message of hope and optimism and bipartisanship out there to a larger audience.
BALDWIN: There was "Friday Night Lights." Also "West Wing." Might have picked up on this. Check it out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[14:40:07] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Over the last half century, we have split the atom, we have spliced the gene, we have reached for the stars. Never have we been closer to having them in our grasp. New science, new technology is making the difference between life and death. So we need a national committed equaled to this unparalleled moment of possibility. And so I announce to you tonight I will bring the full resources of the federal government and the full reach of my office to this fundamental. We will cure cancer by the end of this decade.
OBAMA: So tonight, I'm announcing a new national effort to get it done. And because he's gone to the mat for all of us on so many issues over the past 40 years, I'm putting Joe in charge of mission control.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: For the loved ones we've all lost, for the families that we can still save, let's make America the country that cures cancer once and for all.
What do you say, Joe?
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Joe Biden is like, I didn't know that, I didn't know that. Tweet from Rob Lowe, on the "West Wing," quote, "Sam Seaborn finally got his cancer line into #SOTU." So there you have it.
BYERS: This I'm more skeptical about.
BALDWIN: Why?
BYERS: I think, and it's just my guess, that President Obama probably introduced this because he wanted to address cancer and because Joe Biden's son tragically died of cancer.
That said, there isn't anyone in the political media universe of Washington, D.C., who is not familiar with the "West Wing" and familiar with the writing of the "West Wing." There is no way this went to speech without knowing the references.
(CROSSTALK)
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: Dylan, thank you so much. Good to see you, my friend.
BYERS: Thank you.
BALDWIN: Up next, if you have your tickets for tonight's Powerball, what you would do if you win $1.5 billion jackpot. Well, as you can hear and see in this video, the staff at a New Jersey restaurant thought they had done it. And they were wrong. They were wrong. One of the bartenders up live, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:41:40] BALDWIN: Well, more than a billion dollars up for grabs in tonight's Powerball drawing. The biggest jackpot ever. Maybe tonight is the night, maybe, just maybe, for one of you luck where folks out there. If not, the pot will balloon to $2 million.
Of course, we have all daydreamed about what that will look like if and when you win. Imagine thinking you really did win the jackpot, only to learn that it wasn't real. Eyes are rolling now. That's what happened to this group of workers at a restaurant in New Jersey. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CHARLIE POVAROMO, RESTAURANT BARTENDER: 11.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
POVAROMO: 47.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
POVAROMO: 62.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
POVAROMO: 63.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
POVAROMO: Powerball 17.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
(CHEERING)
BALDWIN: Oh, the excitement, jubilation, daydreaming. It's real. One little problem. The winning numbers were from the wrong day. They were from last Wednesday, not Saturday. It's painful for my next guest who was shouting out the numbers.
Charlie Povaromo, the bartender, reading off the numbers there in the video at the restaurant there in New Jersey.
Charlie, Charlie, Charlie. Uh!
POVAROMO: Yeah. It's tough, tough.
BALDWIN: What, how, why?
POVAROMO: Well, we know why. Everybody plays the Powerball. It's a lot of fun playing it. We all got together and played about 200 tickets.
BALDWIN: 200.
POVAROMO: 200 tickets.
BALDWIN: All of your team.
POVAROMO: All employees. We were keeping our fingers crossed like most people. I got a text 10 minutes after 11:00.
BALDWIN: Saturday night.
POVAROMO: Saturday night, with the numbers that a friend of mine took off the Powerball website that posted the numbers. And when I called them off, you can see what happened. It was pandemonium.
BALDWIN: So you're at work. Everyone is at work. You are standing behind the bar. Everyone is shouting.
POVAROMO: Yes. I was behind the bar. I was working. Then we started to gather around. When I read them off the first time, which you didn't see, we're like, no, that didn't happen. Then excitement is starting to build. Then I read them the second time. That's when the tape picks up. You can see the excitement there.
BALDWIN: And the dishwasher throws his apron off.
POVAROMO: Yeah. He quit. He took his apron off and said I will never wash another dish in my life.
BALDWIN: The valet guy said one?
POVAROMO: One of the customers asked for a car. He said go get it yourself. That's it for me.
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: I don't mean to laugh at you. I'm laughing with you.
POVAROMO: That's fine.
BALDWIN: Were you already planning your trip around the world and how you would spend your -- what was going through your head.
POVAROMO: Believe it or not, I really wasn't. I was enjoying the moment. I was high-fiving, slapping each other on the back. We were laughing, crying. It was really, really real. Such a beautiful thing like that.
BALDWIN: And then reality crashed in.
POVAROMO: Then it all fell apart.
BALDWIN: How did you realize those were not the numbers?
POVAROMO: Well, I went into the bathroom to get some quiet. I called home, called my wife. She just said me, please, check the numbers again. Just make sure. And sure enough, when I went back to the website -- or when I went to the website, I refreshed and there were a whole new set of numbers there.
[14:50:16] BALDWIN: How did you break the news?
POVAROMO: I started on one end of the restaurant. We kind of went this way. Everybody just piled out. It was over.
BALDWIN: It was over. It was short-lived. It was fun for a moment.
POVAROMO: Short lived. It was. It really was.
BALDWIN: Final question, are you playing for tonight?
POVAROMO: We're in, 42 of us.
BALDWIN: You got this, Charlie. I'm rooting for you.
POVAROMO: I hope so.
Thank you so much.
BALDWIN: Thank you so much. Thank you so much.
All right. Coming up, breaking news here. Brand-new video apparently showing one of the U.S. sailors apologizing to Iran after they were detained. This is happening as the U.S. denies Secretary John Kerry said there wasn't any sort of apology for the confrontation. You will see that ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:55:00] BALDWIN: This is just a stunning story. This Iraq war veteran's final Facebook post going viral after he was killed by a suspected drunk driver on New Year's Eve. Matthew DeRemer was 31 years of age. He was just out at 8:00 at night, going for a ride on his motorcycle when he was hit and pronounced dead at the scene. His life was an upward track in the months before his death. Hours before he was killed he posted an incredibly inspiration message on Facebook. We will talk with his parents, Michael and Julie DeRemer, about their agonizing loss.
I asked his father first to read his son's final Facebook post out loud.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL DEREMER, FATHER OF MATTHEW DEREMER: We are born in one day, we die in one day. We can change in one day. And we can fall in love in one day. Anything can happen in just one day. Last day of 2015, for me, I'll be meditating through all I do on this entire year. I've lost, I've gained, family is and tougher than ever before. Loved ones lost and new friends found. There has been many times where I have found on my knees in prayer for hours, relentless. Other times leading a group of people in prayer. My faith that I love to share is an everyday awakening to me that people's lives and circumstances can change for the better over time. I look back at 2015, huge challenges that I have overcome, shared with others, and have once again found myself to say thank you and bring on 2016. Much works to be done. And I really don't know where I'll end up tonight. But I do know where I wind up is where I'm meant to be.
BALDWIN: How powerful. And the gratitude suppressed in that. And that tonight would be ultimately his death when he was killed by this alleged drunk driver as he was out riding his motorcycle.
Julie, to you, at what point were you aware of the Facebook post. And how do you interpret that?
JULIE DEREMER, MOTHER OF MATTHEW DEREMER: Waiting for news to understand how this accident happened. And his dad doesn't get on Facebook, but I do. And it wasn't until I got up and read it to fully understand what had happened. I just couldn't believe it. MICHAEL DEREMER: Brooke, I think the reason why we're here and maybe
so many people have heard about his Facebook page, and Julie's page has blown up, people are reaching out that we have never known.
BALDWIN: What are they saying?
MICHAEL DEREMER: How great a man he was, that he valued others above himself.
JULIE DEREMER: He was selfless, very selfless. He liked to reach out to people that were indeed hurting, that indeed needed to be talked to, need to be loved, needed to be heard, needed to be reached out to. And so he would post things and it would be like I'd like to hear from you. I would like to hear your thoughts on that. Anybody, private message me. I'm here to talk to you. And he met many, many friends that way that we hadn't even posted or texted us and said how deeply he has affected their lives. Unbeknownst to us. And it's been awesome to meet these people and meeting them.
BALDWIN: Look at how handsome. I read that he, what, would be in constant contact with you all and would send pictures of himself, right? He loved taking selfies, is that right, Julie?
JULIE DEREMER: Every morning. He would be in a surgical suite. He wouldn't say what procedure they were doing for the day. But he would have his surgical cap on, put his thumbs up and say, "Today is a great day, mom. Hope you're up. I am." And of course, he would usually wake me up. And I would read that. And then it would be him then saying great procedure today. And then once he got off work, this is what I learned today. Love my job. Love the people I'm with.
BALDWIN: Michael, what will you miss the most?
MICHAEL DEREMER: Well, right now I'm having a hard time overcoming that I can't access him, I can't talk to him. I can't hug him. He had a great hug. I guess probably what everyone is going to miss the most is his caring for everyone and sharing his faith with them, of how Jesus helped him overcome the war, the post war, going through college, and the direction that God was taking him. And that's why the last part of his quote, "Wherever I go, I'm meant to be there," because he totally trusted where God was taking him and where he was taking him. And he was willing to even go to the point of what actually happened.
